TRADING (our favorite) SPACES: My New Space

I have spent the last few weeks getting my new space ready. Last spring, when they cut my job as a Curricular Support Teacher, I decided to apply for a school library position in our district. I love the classroom but I also loved the idea of working with all K-5 kids in the library. Since the principal's vision for the library was exactly what I wanted, I applied for the job and got it. So, for the last few weeks, I have been playing around with the space.

It is nice to move into a totally new space once in a while--it is like moving into a new house. I found myself having things that I needed to change right away and things that I might do down the road. My big goal this year was to create lots of spaces for books on display--places where kids could see lots books they might not know, touch lots of books and read them in a comfortable space. Here is what I've done so far.



This used to be a space that housed teacher resources. Because it was a place that you saw when you entered the library, I rearranged a bit so that I could use this space for books and a comfy reading spot. For now, I have lots of books on display. As the year begins, I can see this space housing baskets of books by authors we've discussed, new books, etc. I can see kids spreading out here to look at favorite books, read with friends, preview new books, etc.



I added a small coffee table near the window in the Everybody Section to give kids another comfortable place to browse books or read books. I can see this table with a basket of books on top--one that changes often.



I had a space like this in my classroom--a space with favorite series book characters. I think that the wall space can start great conversations between kids and I hope that this one invites kids to talk about the series book characters they love. I purchased several small black baskets to house books that were part of a series. This will help kids find the books and think about the characters that they might want to read about again and again.



I added a corner space for magazines. Our library gets several great children's magazines subscriptions. As a classroom teacher, I realized that I could use kids' love of magazines to teach lots about nonfiction. The magazines are in their own little spot and kids can find lots of topics to read about.

This coming week will be my first week with kids and I think the library is ready to go! I am excited about spending my days with children and books!